When words are put into action ...

What a very peculiar and most unhappy twist on Jesus’ parable of the

prodigal son in Luke 15:11-32. Rainer Maria Rilke’s poem on that text

leaps to mind: “ ... why? From urge, from instinct, from impatience,

from dark expectation, from not understanding and not being

understood: To take all this upon yourself and in vain perhaps let

fall the things you’ve held, in order to die alone, not knowing why

-- Is this the way new life commences?”

Clearly and tragically, there are far too many cases of religious

teachers and leaders “corrupting minds” of young men and women. When

I was a campus minister of the Episcopal Church at the University of

California, there were frequent calls about possible “brainwashing”

of young people who had joined “cults.”

Members of our University Religious Council (Jewish, Roman

Catholic, Baptist, Unitarian, United Church of Christ, Lutheran,

Presbyterian, Methodist and Episcopalian) developed a program called

“Learn To Be A Questioner.” Its premise was that we are all

vulnerable and when we are at less than our best, we are liable to

make less than our best decisions. We taught: “There are no instant

friendships,” “There is no magic,” “Guilt induced by others is rarely

a productive emotion” and “No one knows what’s right for you except

you.”

We encouraged people to be very sure who they trusted and, when

hurting or overwhelmed, contact that friend, parent, teacher,

counselor. I was once interviewed about this program in “Dear Abby”

who listed my home telephone number!

Only the young Saudi who died in Fallouja was responsible for his

decision to fight in Iraq; certainly he knew the dangers he risked in

his militancy. Let’s pray that his father mourns more productively

than trying to find someone to blame for his son’s lamentable death.

REV. CANON PETER D. HAYNES

St. Michael & All Angels

Episcopal Church

Corona del Mar

The Biblical verse “You shall not place a stumbling block before

the blind” (Leviticus 19:14) is interpreted as the prohibition of

offering harmful teaching to those whose vulnerability or ignorance

renders them “blind” to what they should do. The “stumbling block” is

a metaphor for counsel that leads the unsuspecting astray.

In the case before us, a young, impressionable man responded to

the authority of religious figures and was influenced by them to his

ultimate harm. He accepted the encouragement of spiritual leaders to

the point where he believed that participating in violent conflict

was preferable to spiritual pilgrimage.

It would appear that authority figures took advantage of this

man’s “blindness,” causing him to lie to his father about his true

destination and to go forth to battle the “infidels” and accept

martyrdom instead. Those with superior knowledge, power, and status

dominated a young man’s decision-making process and preyed upon his

susceptibilities.

Tragically, history is replete with stories of blind obedience to

those who preach hate and violence.

Today, radical clerics indoctrinate worshippers with extremist

messages that appeal to the misguided. Wahabiism (called by one

scholar the “KKK of Islam”) in Saudi Arabia teaches a narrow and

rigid understanding of Islam based on its hatred of Israel and

America. It traces all Muslim suffering and humiliation to a

Judeo-Christian conspiracy, backed by Washington. By destroying both

America and Israel, Wahabiism will avenge Muslim degradation and

further the creation of a universal reign of Islam. The Madrassas in

Saudi Arabia have as their goal the creation of Jihadis.

No doubt, this young man did not go to Fallouja in the passion of

a moment, after hearing one sermon calling for armed struggle. He was

probably well schooled in the “villainy” of Jews and Americans who

are “responsible” for maintaining the backwardness and poverty of

Muslims. He was surely indoctrinated in a culture of death wherein

one must be prepared, no, eager to kill and be killed. He is the end

product of a teaching that calls on its adherents to convert or

eliminate those who do not subscribe to its worldview.

The presence of American troops in Iraq feeds into the Wahabi

teaching that America and the Zionists seek to crush Islam and

confirms the twisted belief that the West wants to wrest control of

Muslim nations from their people.

Wahabiism in Saudi Arabia provides the womb in which Islamic

terrorism and the jihadist mentality are nurtured. Believers are

summoned to go to war against America, the new Crusader kingdom, and

Israel, bastion of “international Jewry.” Taught the “beauty” of

violence, the “purity” of hate, and the “glory” of martyrdom, this

young man’s feet were firmly set on the road to Fallouja. For

Wahabiism, people are not human beings. They are targets.

RABBI MARK S. MILLER

Temple Bat Yam

Newport Beach

Why is it so easy to incite young men to go to war? What is it

deep within all of us that is attracted to war, however unaware of it

we may be?

We must look deeply into our own psychological make-up and our

cultural conditioning if we hope to be effective in counteracting

this powerful urge. It is critical if we are to help young people to

make good decisions after carefully evaluating what causes are truly

worth giving one’s life for, and which situations may call for this

sacrifice. I am sure the grief of this father is even greater because

he believes his son was misguided, rather than committed.

Politicians, military recruiters, and other leaders (including

some clergy) are experts at finding the universal psychological

triggers that will “rally the troops” and appeal to young people.

Television, movies, military toys and video games may be considered a

“grooming” of young soldiers.

Hermann Goring at Nuremberg gave one explanation, “The people can

always be brought to do the bidding of the leaders. All you have to

do is to tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists

for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works

the same in every country.”

If we are ignorant about the dynamics that pull people to believe

in a cause, to join a military and to fire guns in battle, we cannot

prepare them to reflect maturely or withstand pressure.

It does little good to talk about peace, love or cooperation, if

we are naive about the attractions of war.

For example, in what sense does war offer experiences that could

be considered spiritual? Stirring military ceremonies, the

confrontation between life and death, last rites on the battlefield,

involvement in a transcendent cause, sacrificial love, bonding and

fellowship, the testing of virtue, an opportunity for heroism,

standing against evil, the reality of blood shed for a higher cause,

the attention, praise and sanction by authorities (military,

political, clergy) -- these may seem to offer more to a young man

than the local church, synagogue, mosque or temple, and they may look

like better options than a trade school or a low-paying job.

What leads to the support of war by religion and clergy?

“When the claims of any divinity such as God or Allah or a

semi-divinized leader like Hitler or Mao or Khomeini, or an

abstracted idea of a people, a class, a race or a nation is believed

to be the prime reality, goodness, and power, it will fight against

the claims of all others to the same rank and position,” according to

Jungian psychologist James Hillman in his recent book, “A Terrible

Love of War” (New York, Penguin, 2004).

In Zen, we “study the self,” which means to become aware of our

warfare with ourselves and others, our anger, our needs to put others

down and our enemy-making process. The role of religious

organizations and spiritual leaders should be to offer a vision that

doesn’t separate us from others and create a false justification for

war, retribution and killing.

REV. DR. DEBORAH BARRETT

Zen Center of Orange County

Costa Mesa

Several years ago, my first pastor and his senior pastor were sued

in what was America’s first clergy malpractice suit. It was covered

in Time and Newsweek and the national networks.

One Sunday, the senior pastor had preached on the Apostle Paul’s

comments that should he be put to death, the after life with Jesus

would be a gain in comparison to this life. A troubled college aged

student was living with the second pastor’s family. They took him in

as he was trying to rebuild his life. The young man evidently heard

this sermon and decided he wasn’t going to wait and took his own

life.

His parents came into the picture and decided the pastor’s sermon

incited his suicide and sued for clergy malpractice. The pastors were

vindicated every time the case was appealed. The teachings of the

church could not be construed as pro-suicidal. The courts were

holding the pastors accountable for their teaching.

There have been cases since then, where clergy have twisted

Scripture and incited protests, hate-crimes and even murder against

abortionist providers, homosexuals and people of other races. It is

beyond even the wildest stretch of the imagination to claim that

Jesus would endorse such activity.

America is broader than other pluralistic countries (those with

multiple religions in their constituency) in what we allow a

clergyman to say, but even here, we have limits. When their teaching

incites illegal behavior, it is the duty of the courts to uphold

justice, no matter what banner the teaching is proclaimed under.

The question in the Saudi case is whether or not their teaching is

illegal. If the Koran is not supportive of their comments, then we

should expect to see a majority of the rest of the Muslim world

resoundingly denounce the scholars’ error.

I agree with the father in Saudi Arabia, and pray for his

protection as he fights against a culture that supports these

teachings. From its birth, Islam has expanded largely through

conquest. History (neither past nor current) cannot deny this.

These religious scholars in Saudi Arabia are merely following in

the footsteps of their forefathers. They are not twisting the Quran,

but continuing to use it as it has traditionally been used. If Majid

Shabib al-Otaibi can get justice from an Islamic court, then maybe

the world will be able to trust the objections of our American Muslim

community when they claim that Islam is truly a religion of peace.

SENIOR ASSOCIATE PASTOR

RIC OLSEN

Harbor Trinity

Costa Mesa